Golf: Former Annapolis golfer bids for big time on small circuit | Maryland Gazette (HometownGlenBurnie.com)

He does travel from tournament to tournament with an entourage, that is, if you count the three fellow players who pack into a van for road trips to various southern towns.

"I ride with Jimmy Stewart. … He has his dad's gas card, but we try to give him some money," Siwak said. "It's a nice sized van. With fuel prices like they are, it's like we're each paying a dollar a gallon, so that's pretty good."

Married and the father of a 5-year-old son, Siwak, 34, spent his childhood years in Annapolis before moving to Florida, where he went to high school. He didn't play college golf, and ditched an earlier attempt to play professionally to pursue a career as an electrician.

But in 2002, at age 28, Siwak decided to give it another shot, first on Buddy Young's North Atlantic Tour, and eventually with the Teardrop Tour.

The Teardrop Tour, named after the old putter, is a family-run organization based in Orlando, Fla. In terms of stature, the tour ranks well behind the Hooter's and Golden Bear tours, and light years behind the Nationwide Tour.

"College All-Americans don't come to play our tour," Siwak said.

Want to follow the Teardrop Tour? Good luck. It doesn't have a Web site.

Players on the Teardrop Tour range from their early 20s to their late 40s. For Siwak, though, that means cheaper entry fees and less talented competition for prize money.

Last week during a tour stop at The Marsh Club in West Virginia, Siwak tore up the par-70 course with rounds of 66, 68, 70 and 62 to earn a 3-stroke victory over the field of 91 and a check for $6,200.

It was the third victory in the last year for Siwak, who also has 27 top-10 finishes.

A tremendous ball striker, Siwak credited the victory to an adjustment to his putting stroke during a recent round at Hog Neck in Easton.

"You have to make the 20- to 25-footers 50 percent of the time, and you have to make the 15-footers 70 percent of the time" Siwak said.

"It's all about confidence. Right now, if I have a 20-footer right to left, I feel like I shouldn't miss it, " Siwak said. "Short game is everything."

Siwak's prize money reflected a less-than-full field. A victory against a full field of 125 nets $10,500 on the Teardrop Tour.

"There are tours with more money," Siwak said, "but when you add up the entry fees with the amount you make, they come out about the same."

In recent years, Siwak has attempted to qualify for the U.S. Open, missing by one stroke for last year's Open at Oakmont. Three years ago in sectional qualifying in New Jersey, he was in a group that included a young teen named Michelle Wie, then in the early stages of becoming a household name.

Siwak is a friendly sort who realizes the heavy odds he faces to reach the PGA Tour. His immediate goal is to scrape up enough money to pay the $5,000 for qualifying school in the fall. Barring that, Siwak pretty much knows the score in regards to how much longer he'll get to chase his dream.

"As long as my wife lets me," he said.

FROM THE GALLERY: South River High star golfer Josh Eure sure had a busy week. On Monday and Tuesday, Eure won the Maryland State Golf Association's 84th Junior Amateur on the East course at Andrews Air Force Base. Eure shot 70-67 - 137 for a 5-shot win. Lothian's Charlie Winegardner (69-74 - 143) finished in a tie for third. Then on Thursday and Friday, Eure shot 75-73 - 148 to finish 7th at the Middle Atlantic Junior Amateur at Old South. Eure lives in Crofton and plays out of Crofton Country Club. Winegardner, meanwhile, shot 74-73 - 147 for a fifth-place finish at Old South, his home course.